The importance of the contribution proposal system is two fold. For one, it allows for expedited growth of the ICON Network by giving entities the opportunity to receive funding from the network itself. Developers of decentralized applications or contributors to Ecosystem Expansion Projects can submit their work or plan to the Contribution Proposal System, ICONists will vote on whether or not this is a legitimate project, and if approved, this project will be eligible to receive delegation from all ICONists, and in turn, receive funding from the ICON Network. This system will turn the ICON Republic itself into one of the first fully operational Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO). Secondly, and perhaps less obvious, the Contribution Proposal System plays a significant role in the distribution of wealth and power in the ICON Ecosystem. Many blockchain networks give rewards solely to those that produce & verify blocks, thus centralizing wealth & governance power and giving sole discretion of funding ecosystem growth initiatives to such entities. With the introduction of the Contribution Proposal System, all those that participate in this system will have the opportunity to accrue governance power and wealth within the network.

The ICON Incentives Scoring System (hereinafter referred to as ‘IISS’) is an evaluation system for accurately measuring and rewarding the contributions of various ICONists within the ICON Network. The ICON Network defines seven forms of contribution through the ‘Delegated Proof-of-Contribution' incentive protocol.